Published: Wednesday, December 26, 2012 at 10:15 AM.

Forecasters reminds area residents not to wait until you see the first lightning flash before heading to safety. Move indoors at the first sign of threatening skies or the first sound of thunder. And make sure that lightning is well away from your location before resuming outdoor activity.

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Updated at 12:29 p.m.

The NWS in Newport has issued a tornado warning for southwestern Carteret County, southeastern Jones County and eastern Onslow County.

Tornado-spinning thunderstorms dumped more than an inch of rain on the area Wednesday, taking the same path but without touching down as a destructive twister that tore through Onslow County last year.

For much of Wednesday, Onslow, Carteret and surrounding counties were under tornado watches or warnings.

The National Weather Service identified tornado clouds in a wave of storms that moved north through the area in the morning and early afternoon, and tornado damage was confirmed near Beaufort, emergency officials said.

NWS Doppler radar spotted several possible tornado funnel clouds inside a strong thunderstorm at points south of Sneads Ferry and within five miles of the Catfish Lake area. The 911 call center in Onslow County received information that a tornado touched down near U.S. 258 and N.C. 53, and the NWS received reports a waterspout was seen over the New River adjacent to Camp Lejeune. Neither account was confirmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by late Wednesday, said David Glenn, a NWS duty forecaster in Newport.

Confirmed peak winds reached 49 mph with rainfall totaling 1.5 inches at New River Air Station, he said.

A phoned-in report that a twister touched down on Murrill Brown Road in the Richlands area around 11:30 a.m. couldn’t be confirmed, Onslow County Emergency Manager Norman Bryson said.

“We’ve only had one phone call on that. You’d think if a tornado touched down there would be several calls,” he said, adding that investigators had toured the area.

No damage was reported in Surf City and North Topsail Beach, according to police on duty in the beach towns.

Forecasters did, however, report damage in CarteretCounty.

A tornado left a quarter-mile long path of knocked down trees and damaged a house near Beaufort. The twister had maximum winds of 90 mph. No injuries were reported, according to a preliminary report from the NWS.

The tornado spun out of clouds circulating near AtlanticBeachat around 2:50 p.m.with wind gusts up to 70 mph from AtlanticBeachand FortMaconon Bogue Banks north through downtown MoreheadCity. The circulation clouds tightened and produced a tornado north of Beaufort beginning at Tuttles Grove Roadand Madison Bay Driveand ending near N.C. 101 with a path length of one-quarter mile. Maximum width of the tornado is estimated around 100 yards. The tornado rated an EF-1 on the Fujita Scale, according to the report.

The storms initially tracked from the Topsail Island area through the base across Jacksonville toward Jones County. In April 2011, an EF-3 tornado took the same course, damaging or destroying more than 400 homes in Tarawa Terrace II base housing aboard Lejeune, Holiday City Mobile Community in Jacksonville and the Piney Green area of Onslow County. The twister also battered six businesses, which along with the homes added up to a total cost of more than $9 million in damages.

Wednesday’s storms were an acute reminder of the tornado that flattened the Montclair subdivision last year, said Charles Cransfield who lives off Piney Green Road.

“We all took the warning very seriously,” he said. “Thank God it was just a warning.”

Southeastern North Carolina remained under tornado watch Wednesday until 5 p.m. although the sun was peaking though dark clouds by 4 p.m.

The storm front caused tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings to be issued throughout the South including Louisiana and Alabama. More than 30 tornadoes were reported along the Gulf Coast on Christmas Day before the storm moved north toward North Carolina.

Contact Daily News Senior Reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lindell.kay@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook @ 1lindell.

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Updated at 6:31 p.m.

A tornado left a quarter-mile long path of knocked down trees and damaged a house near Beaufort. The twister had maximum winds of 90 mph. No injuries were reported, according to a preliminary report from the NWS.

The tornado spun out of circulation clouds near Atlantic Beach at around 2:50 p.m. with wind gusts up to 70 mph from Atlantic Beach and Fort Macon on Emerald Isle north through downtown Morehead City. The circulation clouds tightened and produced a tornado north of Beaufort beginning at Tuttles Grove Road and Madison Bay Drive and ending near N.C. 101 with a path length of one-quarter mile. Maximum width of the tornado is estimated around 100 yards. The tornado rated a EF-1 on the Fujita Scale, according to the report.

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Updated at 5:57 p.m.

The National Weather Service says a tornado with a quarter-mile long path and winds of 90 mph knocked down trees and damaged a house near Beaufort in Carteret County, according to an Associated Press report. No injuries were reported.

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Updated at 5:02 p.m.

Tornado-spinning thunderstorms dumped more than an inch of rain on the area Wednesday, taking the same path but without touching down as a destructive twister that tore through Onslow County last year.

For much of Wednesday, Onslow, Carteret and surrounding counties were under tornado watches or warnings. The National Weather Service identified tornado clouds in a wave of storms that moved north through the area in the morning and early afternoon, but there were no confirmed reports of funnels hitting ground or damage due to high winds, emergency officials said.

NWS Doppler radar spotted several possible tornado funnel clouds inside a strong thunderstorm at points south of Sneads Ferry and within five miles of the Catfish Lake area. The 911 call center in Onslow County received information that a tornado touched down near U.S. 258 and N.C. 53, and the NWS received reports a waterspout was seen over the New River adjacent to Camp Lejeune. Neither account was confirmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by late Wednesday, said David Glenn, a NWS duty forecaster in Newport.

Confirmed peak winds reached 49 mph with rainfall totaling 1.5 inches at New River Air Station, he said.

A phoned-in report that a twister touched down on Murrill Brown Road in the Richlands area around 11:30 a.m. couldn’t be confirmed, Onslow County Emergency Manager Norman Bryson said.

“We’ve only had one phone call on that. You’d think if a tornado touched down there would be several calls,” he said, adding that investigators had toured the area.

No damage was reported in Surf City and North Topsail Beach, according to police on duty in the beach towns.

The storms tracked from the Topsail Island area through the base across Jacksonville toward Jones County. In April 2011, an EF-3 tornado took the same course, damaging or destroying more than 400 homes in Tarawa Terrace II base housing aboard Lejeune, Holiday City Mobile Community in Jacksonville and the Piney Green area of Onslow County. The twister also battered six businesses, which along with the homes added up to a total cost of more than $9 million in damages.

Wednesday’s storms were an acute reminder of the tornado that flattened the Montclair subdivision last year, said Charles Cransfield who lives off Piney Green Road.

“We all took the warning very seriously,” he said. “Thank God it was just a warning.”

Southeastern North Carolina remained under tornado watch Wednesday until 5 p.m. although the sun was peaking though dark clouds by 4 p.m.

The storm front caused tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings to be issued throughout the South including Louisiana and Alabama. More than 30 tornadoes were reported along the Gulf Coast on Christmas Day before the storm moved north toward North Carolina.

Contact Daily News Senior Reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lindell.kay@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook @ 1lindell.

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Updated at 2:48 p.m.

Power companies are reporting nearly 200 area residents without power.

Progress Energy is reporting two outages with 192 residents without power in the Richlands Highway area.

Jones Onslow EMC is reporting two outages with two residents affected, one on N.C. 53 and one on Blue Creek Road.

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Updated at 1:59 p.m.

Eastern North Carolina, including Onslow, Carteret, Duplin and Jones counties, remains under a tornado watch until 5 p.m.

Forecasters reminds area residents not to wait until you see the first lightning flash before heading to safety. Move indoors at the first sign of threatening skies or the first sound of thunder. And make sure that lightning is well away from your location before resuming outdoor activity.

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Updated at 12:29 p.m.

The NWS in Newport has issued a tornado warning for southwestern Carteret County, southeastern Jones County and eastern Onslow County.

The warning is in effect until 1 p.m.

At 12:17 p.m. the National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado six miles south of North Topsail Beach moving northeast at 60 mph.

While it appears a possible tornado producing storm has passed by Onslow County, emergency workers are still keeping an eye on weather conditions.

“There is still the potential,” said Norman Bryson, director of Onslow County Emergency Management.

His crews are investigating reports of funnel clouds in the area and one report of a tornado touching down on Murrill Brown Road around 11:30 a.m.

“We've only had one phone call on that, you'd think if a tornado touched down there would be several calls,” he said.

Bryson said the county had investigators in the area to determine whether the reports are accurate.

The area remains under a tornado watch until 5 p.m.

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Updated at 12 p.m.

Forecasters say there have been reports of an unconfirmed waterspout near Camp Lejeune.

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Updated at 11:50 a.m.

According to Onslow County Emergency Services, reports have been received of a possible tornado in the Murrell Brown Road area. They advice that those in the vicinity take cover and stay in doors and away from windows.

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Updated at 11:43 a.m.

At 11:30 a.m., the NWS doppler radar continued to indicate a tornado located 8 miles south of Camp Lejeune maine gate moving northeast at 50 mph.

Hazards in the warning include a tornado and damaging winds in excess of 58 mph.

Locations in the path of the storm include Verona, Duck Creek, New River Air Station, Midway Park, Bear Creek, Jacksonville, Piney Green, Pumpkin Center, Hubert, Kellum, Silverdale, Deppe and Maysville.

Forecasters say heavy rainfall may hide the tornado making it difficult to see.

Forecasters also say people should not wait to see or hear the tornado and should take cover now.

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Updated at 11:35 a.m.

The possible tornado is past the New River Inlet and heading toward the heart of Camp Lejeune, according to emergency officials.

Norman Bryson, the director of Emergency Management, said they are watching the possible tornado now and as far as they know it has not touched down anywhere yet.

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Updated at 11:16 a.m.The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Southeastern Jones County and Eastern Onslow County until noon.

At 11:06 a.m., the NWS doppler radar indicated a tornado 11 miles south of North Topsail Beach or 11 miles east of Hampstead moving northeast at 50 mph.

Straight line winds in excess of 58 mph are also likely with this storm.

Forecasters ask area residents to take cover now. Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If in a mobile home, vehicle or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelter. if no shelter is available, lie down in a low lying area. Protect yourself from flying debris.

Forecasters also ask that residents report severe weather to the National Weather Service by calling 1-800-889-6889 or notify your local law enforcement agency

There have not been any reports of damage yet.

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The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch until 5 p.m. today, Dec. 26 for Eastern North Carolina.
Counties included in the watch are: